This is to continue the sidetrack we had in the Bordeaux thread.
Admittedly, the idea that there’s anything we could call “Asian cuisine” much less “East and South Asian Cuisine” is admittedly ridiculous, especially in this context. It’s like asking “red wine with European cuisine” which would lump together Qunelles de Brochet with Osso Buco. So I’ll ask it this way: could you name a pairing of specific dishes from that part of the world with specific red wines where the combination is optimal (as opposed to “it works but wouldn’t be my best choice”)? It could be an interesting list!
I’ll kick things off with a few combos I’ve had success with (the non-vegetarian things being sampled by trusted friends and family, the vegetarian things by me).
Bò Lúc Lắc with young Beaujolais Rouge.
A not-hot Matar Paneer with Barbera.
Clay pot tofu and mushroom with Pinot Noir
Chinese tomato and egg with Chianti or similar Sangiovese
Glad someone gets it. So many “wine doesn’t go with Mexican / Indian / Chinese / Vietnamese you should just drink beer (apparently any beer whatsoever)” posts on WB over the years.
Anything with significant spice heat kills red wine for my palate. I enjoy many of those cuisines specifically because they incorporate spice heat. I’ll stick with beer and low abv Kabinett or something similar, low abv and no tannin being essential.
Korean kitchen is split in two. Royal, which is soy based and not spicy, and workers food, which is red and typically spicy. For the soy based a more complex red is totally fine, like Burgundy or Piedmonte. For the red kitchen I’d do light wines like Beaujolais, Poulsard, Trousseau or Spätburgunder.
Only place where I’d do bold heavy reds(would still do light though) should be in beef bbq which is typically very light on sidedishes that will otherwise clash with something heavy. Here again the dipping condiments can be very crucial because there’s either sesame oil and salt, or a very light soy sauce with onions. Sesame oil and wine doesn’t mix very well IMO.
Whilst you’d think a white may be a better option, I usually take a Bojo along to Yum Cha. It works with seafood and meat dumplings, tripe in various guises, and brilliantly with century egg and pork congee.
If you don’t put a heaping serving of fresh/pickled chili paste into your dipping sauce like me, try:
Bò lá lốt goes hella well with Gamay and Grenache imo, if you stick to the neutral fish sauce and not pineapple fermented paste as dipping.
(Phở) Bò kho with BDX/Tempranillo Blend/Barolo/CS. The heavy broth commands an equally medium+ to full body red.
Bánh xèo/khọt/căn: Chianti, Pinot.
Roasted Pork belly: light body high acid red.
Weirdly enough, I find pad kra pao and nasi lemak go well with Cote Rotie style Syrah.
Yep, sans pineapple. If you like fermented fish then you should try bún mắm if you get to visit the Mekong Delta or the South. Pungent flavorbomb that could only pair well with natty banyard wine
I tend to use hanger steak and season with a combination of light and dark soy sauce, fish salt, garlic salt, and garlic powder and cook over extremely high heat in a cast iron wok.
